“A Pioneer Speaks: A Conversation with Justice Lee Muthoga”

Thursday, 17 January 2013, 3.30-5 PM, Room 2-16

“A Pioneer Speaks: A Conversation with Justice Lee Muthoga”

The Law School is pleased to invite students, staff, faculty, directors and sponsors of Riara University to participate in an informal conversation with Justice Lee Muthoga, currently serving in Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  In his day, Justice Muthoga was a pioneer law student at the University of Dar es Salaam (then the University of East Africa).  He will lead us down memory lane and offer insights on the responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges of pioneering a university education programme.

Brief Biography of Judge Lee Muthoga

Justice Lee Gacuiga Muthoga was born in 1945.  He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and Senior Counsel having been in private practice since 1971. He was a founding partner in the firm of Muthoga Gaturu Advocates.  He has previously held the offices of Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya, President of the African Bar Association, Chairman of the African Forum of the International Bar Association, Chairman of the International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), and Chairman of the African Network for Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect. He was also Founder-Director of the Public Law Institute and Director of Liberty International.  He was enrolled in the Law Society of Kenya Roll of Honour in 2007.

Judge Muthoga holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of East Africa, now the University of Dar es Salaam, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Certified Public Secretary. He has published various papers on criminal justice and human rights.

Since October 2003, Judge Lee Muthoga has served as ad litem Judge in Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), having been elected to the position in June 2003. He also sat as chair of the Tribunal’s Case Management Committee. Some of the cases he handled while at the ICTR include: The Prosecutor v Mikaeli Muhimana Case No. ICTR-95-1B-T (2005) and The Prosecutor v Casimir Bizimungu et al Case No. ICTR-99-50-T (2011).

On 20^th December, 2011, Judge Lee Muthoga was successfully elected to the United Nations Residual Mechanism of the International Criminal Tribunals. Competing with 28 other candidates for the 25 available positions, Judge Muthoga came in an impressive fifth. He received overwhelming support from other Member States of the UN garnering a total of 162 votes, which was almost double the number of votes required to achieve absolute majority.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals was established by the UN Security Council in 2010 through resolution 1966 (2010) to finish the remaining tasks of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia. Judge Muthoga now enters the Roster of Judges who will be called upon to serve in the Residual Mechanism.